Arlenis Sierra sprints to victory on stage 1 of Tour de Romandie Féminin

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Arlenis Sierra (Movistar) proved the strongest in a reduced bunch sprint to take the win on stage 1 of the all-new Tour de Romandie Féminin in Lausanne.

The Cuban rider got the better of Liane Lippert (Team DSM), with Demi Vollering (SD Worx) taking the final spot on the podium.

The Cuban rider made good on the work of her teammate, newly crowned World Champion and GC favourite Annemiek van Vleuten, after the Dutch veteran worked to close several gaps during a day of aggressive racing in Switzerland.

Sierra will wear the leader’s jersey going into day two of the three-day stage race, as Van Vleuten looks to add the GC to her palmarès in the final Women’s World Tour race of 2022. 

In the overall standings, bonus seconds gave Sierra a lead of four seconds over Lippert, six seconds over Vollering, and 10 seconds over the rest of 25-rider group that contested the finish.

Sierra has won five races so far this season, but this is her first WorldTour level win of the year.

How it unfolded

The 134.4km stage began and ended in Lausanne, in the Western region of Switzerland, and featured a number of third category climbs, leading to lively and attacking racing throughout. 

Katia Ragusa of Liv Racing-Xstra was the first rider to escape the bunch and successfully stay away, and she was joined later by Elena Hartmann of the Swiss National Team. The two amassed a lead of around two minutes before they began to be reeled back in by the peloton.

With 50km remaining, attacks began to come, with SD Worx on the offensive, and the early break was caught as Demi Vollering and Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio traded blows with Trek-Segafredo’s Ellen van Dijk at the front of the race. 

Danish champion Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig (FDJ-SUEZ-Futuroscope) was next to attack, pulling clear of the bunch and opening up a small gap as the peloton made short work of the penultimate climb of the day. But Uttrup Ludwig was quickly brought back as the attacks continued to launch, and with one climb remaining there was a brief truce in the bunch.

Demi Vollering attacked with just over 30km to go, stringing out the bunch, and Elisa Longo Borghini followed suit, putting pressure on the rest. Team BikeExchange-Jayco had been looking ominous all day and Ane Santesteban was next to try her luck. The repeated attacks resulted in an ever-decreasing pack, as they crested the final third category climb of the day and head for the final.

Uttrup Ludwig attacked again and looked comfortable as she opened up a gap again on a reduced bunch. She showed great form ahead of a day of climbing on stage 2, where the GC favourites will make an impact. She was closed down and a counter attack came as a group of seven riders moved clear, including some of the favourites, but the front group came together once again on the long descent towards Lausanne.

Team DSM’s Floortje Mackaij put in an injection of pace as the parcours flattened out heading towards the shores of Lac Leman, where the final 15km would play out. Veronica Ewers (EFEducation-Tibco-SVB) and Anna Shackley (SD Worx) were both at the sharp end as the tension wound up ahead of what looked likely to be a reduced bunch sprint.

The selection of around 25 riders had been made heading along the bank of the stunning Lac Leman, with teams playing cat and mouse with 10km to go. Heading into the final 5km, Team DSM were prominent at the front of the group, but as the kilometres ticked down it became clear that despite the strength of the collective, the Movistar duo of van Vleuten and Sierra would not be moved.

With the strongest sprint in the leading bunch, Sierra was able to power clear and take the victory.

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